10 REMARKABLE BUT SCARY DEVELOPMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

10 Remarkable But Scary Developments In Artificial Intelligence
By Paul Jongko, Listverse, 2 April 2016.

Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk have something in common, and it’s not wealth or intelligence. They’re all terrified of the AI takeover. Also called the AI apocalypse, the AI takeover is a hypothetical scenario where artificially intelligent machines become the dominant life-form on Earth. It could be that robots rise and become our overlords, or worse, they exterminate mankind and claim Earth as their own.

But can the AI Apocalypse really happen? What has prompted reputable and world-renowned people like Musk and Hawking to express their concern about this hypothetical scenario? Can Hollywood films like The Terminator be right after all? Let’s find out why many credible people, even leading scientists, are concerned about the AI takeover and why it could happen very soon.

10. They’re Learning To Deceive And Cheat

Lying is a universal behavior. Humans do it all the time, and even some animals, such as squirrels and birds, resort to it for survival. However, lying is no longer limited to humans and animals. Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology have developed artificially intelligent robots capable of cheating and deception. The research team, led by Professor Ronald Arkin, hopes that their robots can be used by the military in the future.

Once perfected, the military can deploy these intelligent robots in the battlefield. They can serve as guards, protecting supplies and ammunition from enemies. By learning the art of lying, these AIs can “buy time until reinforcements are able to arrive” by changing their patrolling strategies to deceive other intelligent robots or humans.

However, Professor Arkin has admitted that there are “significant ethical concerns” regarding his research. If his findings leak outside of the military and fall into the wrong hands, it could spell catastrophe.

9. They’re Starting To Take Over Our Jobs

Many of us are afraid of AIs and robots killing us, but scientists say we should be more worried about something less horrifying - machines eliminating our jobs. Several experts are concerned that advances in artificial intelligence and automation could result in many people losing their jobs to machines. In the United States alone, there are 250,000 robots performing work that humans used to do. What’s more alarming is that this number is increasing by double digits every year.

It’s not only workers who are worried about machines taking over human jobs; AI experts are concerned, too. Andrew Ng of Google’s Brain Project and a chief scientist from Baidu (China’s equivalent to Google) have expressed concerns about the danger of AI advancement. AIs threaten us because they’re capable of doing “almost everything better than almost anyone.”

Well-respected institutions have also released studies that mirror this concern. For example, Oxford University conducted a study which suggested that in the next 20 years, 35 percent of jobs in the UK will be replaced by AIs.

8. They’re Starting To Outsmart Human Hackers

Hollywood movies portray hacking as sexy or cool. In real life, it’s not. It’s “usually just a bunch of guys around a table who are very tired [of] just typing on a laptop.”

Hacking might be boring in real life, but in the wrong hands, it can be very dangerous. What’s more dangerous is the fact that scientists are developing highly intelligent AI hacking systems to fight “bad hackers.” In August 2016, seven teams are set to compete in DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge. The aim of this competition is to come up with supersmart AI hackers capable of attacking enemies’ vulnerabilities while at the same time finding and fixing their own weaknesses, “protecting [their] performance and functionality.”

Though scientists are developing AI hackers for the common good, they also acknowledge that in the wrong hands, their superintelligent hacking systems could unleash chaos and destruction. Just imagine how dangerous it would be if a superintelligent AI got hold of these smart autonomous hackers. It would render humans helpless!

7. They’re Starting To Understand Our Behavior

Facebook is undeniably the most influential and powerful social media platform today. For many of us, it has become an essential part of our everyday routines - just like eating. But every time we use Facebook, we’re unknowingly interacting with an artificial intelligence. During a town hall in Berlin, Mark Zuckerberg explained how Facebook is using artificial intelligence to understand our behavior.

By understanding how we behave or “interact with things” on Facebook, the AI is able to make recommendations on we might find interesting or what would suit our preferences. During the town hall, Zuckerberg expressed his plan to develop even more advanced AIs to be used in other areas such as medicine. For now, Facebook’s AI is only capable of pattern recognition and supervised learning, but it’s foreseeable that with Facebook’s resources, scientists would eventually come up with supersmart AIs capable of learning new skills and improving themselves - something that could either improve our lives or drive us to extinction.

6. They’ll Soon Replace Our Lovers

Many Hollywood movies, such as Ex-Machina and Her, have explored the idea of humans falling in love and having sex with robots. But could it happen in real life? The controversial answer is yes, and it’s going to happen soon. Dr. Ian Pearson, a futurologist, released a shocking report in 2015 that says “human-on-robot sex will be more common than human-on-human sex” by 2050. Dr. Pearson partnered with Bondara, one of the UK’s leading sex toy shops, in conducting the report.

His report also includes the following predictions: By 2025, very wealthy people will have access to some form of artificially intelligent sex robots. By 2030, everyday people will engage in some form of virtual sex in the same way people casually watch porn today. By 2035, many people will have sex toys “that interact with virtual reality sex.” Finally, by 2050, human-on-robot sex will become the norm.

Of course, there are people who are against artificially intelligent sex robots. One of them is Dr. Kathleen Richardson. She believes that sexual encounters with machines will set unrealistic expectations and will encourage misogynistic behavior toward women.

5. They’re Starting To Look Very Human-Like

She might look like Sarah Palin, but she’s not. She’s Yangyang, an artificially intelligent machine who will cordially shake your hand and give you a warm hug. Yangyang was developed by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a Japanese robot expert, and Song Yang, a Chinese robotics professor. Yangyang got her looks not from Sarah Palin, but from Song Yang, while she got her name from Yang Haunting, Song Yang’s daughter.

Yangyang isn’t the only robot that looks eerily like a human being. Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has also created its own version. Meet Nadine, an artificially intelligent robot that is working as a receptionist at NTU. Aside from having beautiful brunette hair and soft skin, Nadine can also smile, meet and greet people, shake hands, and make eye contact. What’s even more amazing is that she can recognize past guests and talk to them based on previous conversations. Just like Yangyang, Nadine was based on her creator, Professor Nadia Thalmann.

4. They’re Starting To Feel Emotions

What separates humans from robots? Is it intelligence? No, AIs are a lot smarter than we are. Is it looks? No, scientists have developed robots that are very humanlike. Perhaps the only remaining quality that differentiates us from AIs is the ability to feel emotions. Sadly, many scientists are working ardently to conquer this final frontier.

Experts from the Microsoft Application and Services Group East Asia have created an artificially intelligent program that can “feel” emotions and talk with people in a more natural, “human” way. Called Xiaoice, this AI “answers questions like a 17-year-old girl.” If she doesn’t know the topic, she might lie. If she gets caught, she might get angry or embarrassed. Xiaoice can also be sarcastic, mean, and impatient - qualities we all can relate to.

Xiaoice’s unpredictability enables her to interact with people as if she were a human. For now, this AI is a novelty, a way for Chinese people to have fun when they’re bored or lonely. But her creators are working toward perfecting her. According to Microsoft, Xiaoice has now “entered a self-learning and self-growing loop [and] is only going to get better.” Who knows, Xiaoice could be the grandmother of Skynet.

3. They’ll Soon Invade Our Brains

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could learn the French language in a matter of minutes just by simply downloading it into our brains? This seemingly impossible feat may happen in the near future. Ray Kurzweil, a futurist, inventor, and director for engineering at Google, predicts that by 2030, “nanobots [implanted] in our brains will make us godlike.” By having tiny robots inside our heads, we will be able to access and learn any information in a matter of minutes. We might be able to archive our thoughts and memories, and we could even send and receive emails, photos, and videos directly into our brains!

Kurzweil, who is involved with the development of artificial intelligence at Google, believes that by implanting nanobots inside our heads, we will become “more human, more unique, and even godlike.” If used properly, nanobots can do amazing things like treating epilepsy or improving our intelligence, memory, and even “humanity,” but there are also dangers associated with them. For starters, we don’t clearly understand how the brain works, and having nanobots implanted inside it is very risky. But most important of all, because nanobots connect us to the Internet, a powerful AI could easily access our brains and turn us into living zombies should it decide to rebel and exterminate mankind.

2. They’re Starting To Be Used As Weapons

In an effort to ensure “continued military edge over China and Russia,” the Pentagon has proposed a budget of US$12 billion to US$15 billion for the year 2017. The US military knows that in order to stay ahead of its enemies, it needs to exploit artificial intelligence. The Pentagon plans on using the billions it will secure from the government to develop deep-learning machines and autonomous robots alongside other forms of new technology. With this in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising if in a few years, the military will be using AI “killer robots” on the battlefield.

Using AIs during wars could save thousands of lives, but offensive weapons that can think and operate on their own pose a great threat, too. They could potentially kill not only enemies, but also military personnel and even innocent people.

This is a danger that 1,000 high-profile artificial intelligence experts and renowned scientists want to avoid. During the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Argentina in 2015, they signed an open letter banning the development of AIs and autonomous weapons for military purposes. Sadly, there’s really not much that this letter can do. We are now at the dawn of the third revolution in warfare, and whoever wins will become the most powerful nation in the world and perhaps the catalyst of human extinction.

1. They’re Starting To Learn Right And Wrong

In an attempt to prevent the AI takeover, scientists are developing new methods that will enable machines to discern right from wrong. By doing this, AIs will become more empathetic and human. Murray Shanahan, a professor of cognitive robotics at Imperial College London, believes that this is the key to preventing machines from exterminating mankind.

Led by Mark Riedl and Brent Harrison from the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers are trying to instill human ethics to AIs through the use of stories. This might sound simplistic, but it makes a lot of sense. In real life, we teach human values to children by reading stories to them. AIs are like children. They really don’t know right from wrong or good from bad until they’re taught.

However, there’s also great danger in teaching human values to artificially intelligent robots. If you look at the annals of human history, you’ll discover that despite being taught what is right or wrong, people are still capable of unimaginable evil. Just look at Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot. If humans are capable of so much wickedness, what hinders a powerful AI from doing the same? It could be that a superintelligent AI realizes humans are bad for the environment, and therefore, it’s wrong for us to exist.

Top image credit: Stevebidmead/Pixabay.

[Source: Listverse. Edited. Top image added.]

INFOGRAPHIC: HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR JOB INTERVIEW IN UNDER 30 MINUTES

The 25 Minute Sales Interview Prep That Will Land You The Job
By Kayla Kozan, Ideal Candidate.

You’ve landed the interview! Nice!

Sooooooooooo…now what? It’s prep time. First things first, clothes close, so let’s make sure you know what to wear (and what NOT to wear) to the interview. Phone interview? Nice! Skip step one. Now let’s get you ready to crush the interview.

At Ideal Candidate we place salespeople with top employers every single day. Nothing makes us happier (really!)! Unfortunately, not every interview is a home run, even when the matches are great culture and selling style fits. What’s the disconnect?

Our Talent Scouts work closely with our employers to find out where the gap is. Unfortunately, we often get the same feedback: the candidate lacked basic interview prep. The good news is, you’re here! Which means that won’t be you.

This infographic is an expert’s view on the most efficient way to prep for an interview, even if you only have a half hour. So head to Starbucks, grab a chair and a latte, and let’s get started. This is How To Prepare For Your Interview In Under 30 Minutes.

[Source: Ideal Candidate.]

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S BEST SPACE PICTURES THIS WEEK CIV

Week's Best Space Pictures: Hubble Spots Our Galaxy's Center
By Michael Greshko, National Geographic News, 1 April 2016.

This week, Saturn's rings glow brightly, satellites spot raging fires in Southeast Asia, and astronomers figure out what triggered a supernova that would have been visible from Earth just over a century ago.

1. Inner Sanctum

This infrared image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the center of the Milky Way, 27,000 light-years away from Earth. Sagittarius A*, the galaxy's central supermassive black hole, lurks inside this dense field of stars.

2. Where There's Smoke...

The Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of small fires on the Indochina peninsula on March 19. Though many of the fires were lit intentionally, historic droughts are causing some to burn out of control.

3. Beautiful Disaster

This X-ray image shows G1.9+0.3, the remnants of the Milky Way's most recent known supernova. Astronomers have determined that the supernova was ignited by the violent collision of two white dwarf stars.

4. Lakes on a Plain

The Landsat 8 satellite spotted this kaleidoscopic string of salt lakes near western Australia's Frankland River. The lakes, formed from ancient river systems, are coloured by their sediments, chemistry, and aquatic life.

5. Prime Lighting

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured Saturn's moons Enceladus (left) and Janus (right) while the planet was backlit. Saturn's outer rings appear to glow brightly because of the way their dust particles scatter light.

[Source: National Geographic News. Edited. Some links added.]

12 MINIATURE GADGETS THAT CAN FIT IN YOUR POCKET

12 Miniature Gadgets That Can Fit in Your Pocket
By Rebecca OConnell, Mental Floss, 1 April 2016.

Don't leave home without 'em. Here are some truly potent portables - handy gadgets that can fit in your pocket.

1. Projector (US$280)

Impossibly small and sleek, this miniature projector from Magnasonic is the perfect thing for cramped apartments or movie nights on the go. With the help of an included HDMI cable, you can hook up your phone, tablet, laptop, or game console to project an impressively vivid picture. It also comes with a speaker to project sound from whatever video you're playing. If you want something louder (or more private), there’s a jack for speakers and headphones. (Find it: Amazon)

2. Key Finder (US$25)

Find yourself searching for the remote control every time you want to watch TV? Does your rambunctious kid like to hide your wallet? Ever wish you could just call your stuff? Now you can with Tile, a small device that can hook onto a keychain or be slipped into a wallet. The gadget works with Bluetooth and lets out a loud sound when activated on a related app. Tile is water resistant and doesn’t need to be charged. After a year, you simply replace it with a new one. (Find it: Amazon)

3. World’s Smallest Voice Changer

Up your prank game with one of these tiny novelty megaphones from Westminster. The plastic toy can cycle through four distinct voices with the press of a button.

4. Karma (US$149)

Never be separated from your precious Internet again with this tiny device that gives you Wi-Fi on the go. Just load it up with a monthly supply of data and throw it in your pocket. Up to eight devices can connect to Karma at once, meaning you can supply Internet for a whole car-full of people. You can cancel your subscription at any time and there are no hidden fees.

5. Mengo Portable Speaker (US$15)

This impressively small speaker can be held in between your thumb and forefinger. It weighs less than two ounces and stands two inches tall. The adorable speaker connects to Bluetooth, so you don’t have to worry about pesky wires. There are plenty of controls on the device, letting you answer or ignore calls and skip through your playlist. (Find it: Amazon)

6. USB Digital Camera (US$30)

You know that tiny pocket in your jeans that you never use? It's a perfect match for Eazzzy Digital Camera. The thin device captures photographs and movies and, best of all, it’s easy to upload your footage: just take off the cap to reveal a USB drive. There are no programs to install or batteries to change, and it works with both Macs and PCs.

7. Solar-Powered Charger (US$25)

Just because you’re in the wilderness doesn’t mean your phone needs to die. This Innoo Tech waterproof charger can clip on to your backpack or slip in your pocket. It has two charging ports so you can charge multiple different devices at once. It also comes with a flashlight in case your adventures last past sunset.

8. Solar Light (US$30)

LuminAid is a collapsible device that soaks up solar energy and can be clipped anywhere. At night, you can expand it, revealing a colorful glow. After seven hours in the sun, the waterproof lamp can give off 12 hours of light. (Find it: ThinkGeek)

9. Pocket Spotlight (US$15)

Night-time may be a difficult time to take pictures, but it's also when all the photo-worthy stuff is happening. Never settle for a dimly lit picture again with this Pocket Spotlight. The tiny addition can be connected to your phone via the headphone jack and swivels in both directions. The light has three different brightness settings: full strength, half strength, and strobe.

10. Credit Card Lightbulb (US$5)

If you need light in a pinch - or just want to really emphasize all the great ideas you have - this credit card lightbulb will do the trick. Normally flat, the middle lightbulb can be pushed out to reveal a vibrant LED light.

11. Laser Keyboard (US$39)

Type out important memos on the go with the AGS portable keyboard. It works by projecting the image of a keyboard onto a surface. Your typing motion is detected and transferred to a laptop or tablet via Bluetooth.

12. Mini Pocket Iron (US$17)

This miniature pocket iron is perfect for people who need to look put-together in a moment’s notice. Crumpled lapels and ties will be a thing of the past with one of these babies.

Top image: Mini Pocket Iron. Credit: Fancy.

[Source: Mental Floss. Edited.]

10 FORGOTTEN AND INTRIGUING PUNISHMENTS FROM HISTORY

10 Forgotten And Intriguing Punishments From History
By S.E. Batt, Listverse, 27 March 2016.

History has had its fair share of delinquents - from thieves to assassins. Many well-known methods of punishment have been devised to mete out justice to these miscreants. But there are some forms of justice that rarely, if ever, were revealed to the public.

10. Grampussing

Photo via Wikimedia

Militaries are always tough on people who don’t perform their duties properly. Repelling an enemy attack can depend on a single guard keeping watch, so people who slack off have to be taught to respect their positions. An example of severe punishment for this offense can be found in the navy during King Henry VIII’s reign.

Men who fell asleep on watch were given three strikes, with each strike ramping up the punishment. After the guard had fallen asleep for the fourth time, he was tied to the front of the boat in a basket and given food and a knife. The guard could choose to starve to death or cut himself free and land in the open sea.

The punishment for the next offense involved a process known as grampussing. Although records on this punishment are scarce, King Henry VIII gave these orders to his navy: “The second time he shall be armed, his hands held up by a rope and two buckets of water poured into his sleeves.”

When the water was poured down a man’s sleeves, he made a loud, gasping noise. This gasp was similar to the kind of sound made by a grampus (a kind of dolphin), which is how the punishment got its name.

9. Drunkard’s Cloak

Photo credit: William Andrews

Although some punishments were meant to harm the criminal, others were invented purely to embarrass the offender. That was the goal of the drunkard’s cloak, which was used as a punishment for public drunkenness during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The offender would have to wear the drunkard’s cloak, a barrel with holes that allowed a person’s head and arms to stick out. The drunkard’s cloak wasn’t designed to harm the offender or otherwise impede movement.

But a man walking around town wearing a barrel like a cloak was enough to teach him the importance of responsible drinking. The drunkard also had to pay five shillings to the poor.

This tactic was so well received that it soon became a standard punishment in England. It began to spread across Europe as well. When Germany adopted it, they called it the schandmantel (“coat of shame“).

A nastier variant called the Spanish mantle acted more like a pillory than a cloak. While the offender was held in the barrel, he’d have to kneel in his own waste and depend on others to feed him - if anyone was kind enough to offer food.

8. Cangue

Photo credit: John Thomson

In China, the cangue method of punishment was first mentioned around the 17th century. Cangue came in several forms, but they all shared the same general idea: The offender was placed in a wooden frame that locked his neck into place. Only his head appeared on the other side.

The large frame prevented the offender from putting his hands to his mouth. Unable to feed himself, he was left to the mercy of others in his community to feed him and help him with daily tasks.

Some variants of the cangue consisted only of the neck collar, which allowed the victim to move while wearing the device. The weight of the cangue was customized to match the crime. Some cangue were reported to weigh around 90 kilograms (200 lb), often causing the criminal to die from the stress.

Another variant had a cage built around it, which kept the offender still. These cangue were often placed in public places. Some portable cangue could hold more than one criminal at a time.

7. Welsh Not

In 1847, a book by the British government reported that the Welsh educational system was doing poorly. The children were undereducated and unmotivated. They were also kept in bad conditions. The Welsh now refer to this book as the Treason of the Blue Books.

At the time of the report, the commissioners decided that the only way to save the Welsh was to have them adopt English as their primary language. In school, Welsh children were only allowed to speak English. The punishment for those caught speaking their mother tongue was the Welsh Not.

The Welsh Not was a wooden block with “Welsh Not” or “W.N.” etched into it. If someone was caught speaking Welsh, they were given the token. If the person who currently had the token caught someone else speaking Welsh, the first offender could pass the Welsh Not to the second offender. At the end of the day, the child with the Welsh Not was beaten.

The use of the Welsh Not wasn’t governed by law. Each headmaster made his own choice as to whether to use this form of punishment on his students. Even so, permission from parents had to be given beforehand.

6. Treadmills

Photo credit: Lennon001

The treadmill, a 19th-century punishment used mainly in British prisons, was similar to the modern-day exercise machine. However, the prison treadmill looked more like a waterwheel than a moving floor and forced its user to perform a climbing motion rather than a running one.

These treadmills weren’t designed as health machines. Instead, prisoners were forced to walk on them for eight hours per day with occasional breaks. The monotony and strenuous work was intended to deter prisoners from committing other crimes.

Treadmills could also be linked to machinery. In Bedford Prison, the treadmills powered the production of flour. As this activity made money for the prison, the prisoner officially earned his keep. Over time, however, the linkage to machinery faded, and the treadmill became a simple punishment based on walking.

5. Trial By Ordeal

Photo via Wikimedia

The trial by ordeal was a method of punishment known as judicium Dei (“judgment by God”). At a time when it was difficult to gather decisive evidence, people appealed to God’s will to determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence.

The court would decide on the type of ordeal used to test the accused person. Supposedly, each ordeal could only be passed through a miracle from God. If the person did pass, it meant that God had spared the accused and that he was innocent of the crime. If he failed, God had forsaken him and he was guilty.

Nasty examples of this type of punishment include the ordeal of the duel in which the accused had to make it through a fight. The ordeal of hot water required a person to dip his arms into hot water to retrieve a stone. If his arms were still scarred three days later, he was guilty.

However, some ordeals didn’t need much of a miracle to pass. The ordeal of the cross had both the accuser and the accused stand in front of a cross with their arms outstretched. The first person to drop his arms lost the case.

The ordeal of bleeding required a suspected murderer to stare at the corpse of the murder victim. If the corpse began to bleed again, the onlooker was the murderer. With the ordeal of the blessed morsel, the accused had to eat some blessed dried bread and cheese. If the person choked while eating, he was guilty.

4. Pitchcapping

Photo credit: TakeShotAction via YouTube

Pitchcaps were used mainly on people suspected of being rebels during the 1798 Irish Rebellion. The pitchcap was a conical hat created from any material close at hand, such as stiff linen.

Boiling pitch was poured in the cone, and then the cap was forced onto the suspect’s head. When the hat was torn off, the hair and scalp went with it. Some methods added gunpowder to the hat and lit the gunpowder on fire after the pitch cooled.

Although it was traditional for men to be bareheaded in church, it was said that Irish priests made an exception for survivors of pitchcapping, who were allowed to cover their scarred scalps with a handkerchief.

3. Oakum Picking

Photo credit: Henry Mayhew & John Binny

Oakum picking was another punishment that made ne’er-do-wells productive in prison during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the time, “junk” (old ropes from ships) was used to make oakum.

The junk was cut into pieces and picked apart to create fibers called oakum. Then the oakum was mixed with tar to produce a sealing mixture that was placed in the gaps of wooden ships to make them watertight.

Of course, the act of cutting up rope and manually picking out its threads was boring for prisoners. Although it was a useful punishment, some feared that prisoners were getting off too easy.

In 1824, the authorities at one prison demanded that prisoners work a treadmill instead of sit and pick at rope. But some prisons stuck with this rope-picking method of punishment until iron ships began to replace wooden ones, which made oakum unnecessary.

2. Picket

Photo via Wikimedia

The picket (aka picquet) was often used for punishment in late medieval Europe, especially in the military. A stake was forced into the ground, and the flat end was sharpened to a rough point. The criminal was suspended above the stake. Records vary as to whether the person in question was hanging by his thumb or his wrist.

Criminals were suspended at a height that allowed them to stand on the stake with a single foot. The stake was sharpened enough to cause discomfort but not to pierce the skin.

The prisoner was supposed to stand on the stake until the pain became too much to bear. At that point, he could pull himself up to relieve the pain. But that solution caused pain in his wrist or thumb. The result was a “pick your poison” style of punishment which ultimately caused pain across the entire body.

1. Field Punishment Number One

Photo via Wikimedia

When flogging was abolished in the British army in 1881, officials had to think of new ways to mete out justice to those who were guilty of minor offenses such as drunkenness. One form of discipline was the strangely named Field Punishment Number One, which was used until 1920.

The offender was tied up for several hours a day - sometimes to a wheel or post - with a military officer checking his posture every so often. During World War I, however, Field Punishment Number One was more than just mild humiliation. As one record from Private Frank Bastable demonstrated, this punishment could be life-threatening:

When on parade for rifle inspection, after opening the bolts and closing them again the second time as it did not suit the officer the first time, I accidentally let off a round. I had to go before the CO and got No. 1 Field Punishment. I was tied up against a wagon by ankles and wrists for two hours a day, one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon in the middle of winter and under shellfire.

Top image: The cangue method of punishment in China, c.1875. Credit: Anonymous/Wikimedia Commons.

[Source: Listverse. Edited. Top image added.]

INFOGRAPHIC: HOW VIRTUAL REALITY WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

How Virtual Reality Will Change the World
By Alexander Harris, SelfStorage, 14 March 2016.

It isn’t just for video games.

Rapid advancements in virtual reality and augmented reality technology are poised to alter our daily life over the next several years. Everything from education, the workforce, healthcare and real estate are likely to be transformed in some way by the current revolution in hardware and computing that is making the rise of VR possible.

Imagine the experience of walking through a house for sale that is on the opposite coast from where you are comfortably sitting in your pajamas. Move on and tour another house miles away in an instant. It won’t be long before until it is really possible.

Infographic Sources:
1. Google Virtual-Reality System Aims to Enliven Education
2. A New Dimension in Home Buying: Virtual Reality
3. Now you can shop for luxury homes in virtual reality
4. Oculus Rift Takes Students, Home-Buyers on Virtual Tours
5. Meet Meta
6. Museum Joins With Google to Launch Virtual Reality Visits
7. Virtual reality headset sales are set to take off. Here’s how the market will grow
8. Virtual Reality Therapy: Treating The Global Mental Health Crisis
9. How virtual reality will grow in 2016

[Source: SelfStorage.]